For me you won’t find a better Ambassador for our island than Rafa Nadal. Last weekend he won his 19th Grand Slam tennis title by winning the US Open. The 33-year-old has thrived at the highest level on the ATP Tour for 15 seasons, achieving numerous milestones along the way. The one thing he has not lost on his long run at the top is his love for Mallorca. Straight after winning the title last Sunday night, he was on a plane and back to the island. He posted on Instagram “happy to be back home” from his terrace in Porto Cristo. I’ve said it before but why don’t the Government use him to promote the island around the World? They did before but for me the campaign wasn’t right. Hopefully they’ll look again and as the World Travel Market in London is coming up in November maybe now is the time.

Am I missing something or are the stories about the next James Bond being a Woman and the fire service dropping Fireman Sam totally bonkers? Firstly the 007, well the clue is in the name surely? He’s James Bond, not Jane Bond, he’s a fictional character and if you want a female secret agent let’s ask someone to come up with one.

Fireman Sam has been axed as a mascot for a fire brigade over fears he could put women off joining.

Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue Service said the children’s TV character was outdated and did not reflect the message it wanted to achieve.

The decision follows complaints by staff and members of the public. Surely this is PC gone mad?

I asked the listeners on the radio their thoughts and I was more interested in what the women felt and everyone thought it was mad.

102 sleeps until Christmas and I’ve been told that supermarkets are already stocking mince pies and Christmas puddings back in the UK. A story that always does the rounds this time of year is the size of the chocolate tins and the fact they are shrinking. Quality Street, Roses, Celebrations and Heroes will be the go to chocolates again this Christmas. Last year Nestle’sQuality Street were sold in shops in a 698g tub, but this year shoppers will be offered a 650g one. Similarly, this Christmas, Cadbury’sHeroes and Roses tubs will go from 660g to 600g.

The price of these sweets will vary depending on where you buy them, as most supermarkets will have their own offers on during the holiday period.

But no matter the price, you’ll still be getting less chocolate than before.

The owner of a pub in Worcestershirewants to set a bizarreworld record by gathering together the largest ever number of people called Nigel.

The pubowner, who is called, you’ve guessed it, Nigel, wants to celebrate the existence of proud Nigels across the UK at the world’s first ‘Nigel Night’ to be held in his pub, The Fleece in Bretforton.

Fifty-six-year-old Nigel Smith was outraged to discover that there were no children born in the country recently that were given the name Nigel.

In honour of, or perhaps to draw attention to the lack of Nigels in Britain today, he decided that it was time for them all to stand up and be counted.

However, he meant that literally as well as figuratively. He wants them to actually be counted.

So, on 28 September at about 7pm, the world’s first and only ‘Nigel Night’ will commence in his 600-year-old pub and anyone who can prove their name is Nigel will be entitled to a free drink.

Of course, the pub will still be open to people who aren’t called Nigel, but any non-Nigels will have to identify themselves as such by wearing a badge. Spread the word to all the Nigel’s you know.

A creditable 0-0 draw last night for Real Mallorca against second placed Atlético Bilbao. Both teams missed penalties in the last 10 minutes and to be honest the game was ruined by the referee and VAR. I’ll talk more about it next week.

La Liga will be available to watch on UK television for the next three seasons on Premier Sports, it has been announced.

Spain’s top flight has signed a three-year deal with Premier – who also have Serie A, Eredivisie and Scottish rights – with match coverage available on the Premier Sports 1 & 2 channels from this weekend.

Furthermore, Premier Sports have also agreed to a dedicated new 24/7 La Liga channel, starting in January 2020. You’ll need to check with your provider for the cost.

Atlético Baleares are at home this Sunday against Sanse a team from San Sebastián. Kick off is at 12 midday at their new stadium. They need to bounce back from their first defeat of the season against Rayo Majadahonda last weekend. A quiet weekend for Dad Taxi as neither of my boys have got a game after covering the whole island last weekend. My Wife is away so it’s the 3 amigos together this weekend and probably a few meals out.

Enjoy your weekend!

Richie presents the Radio One Mallorca Breakfast show Monday to Friday07.30-11.00am on 93.8fm in Mallorca and 102fm in Calvià, online at www.radioonemallorca.comon mobile through their free App for IPhone & Android, The Tunein Radio App, iTunes, the Spanish TDT TV service and all smart speakers. . If you can’t hear him on the radio then you’ll find him working at Pirates Adventure the islands number one night out and every now and again he may make an understudy appearance!

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September, definitely my favourite month, it’s cooler, less busier on the roads, although you still can’t park anywhere, you can get a taxi when you want one and getting a reservation in a restaurant is a little bit easier.

Last Monday was “National Stand In Front of a Door In Your School Uniform and Upload A Photo To Facebook Day.” for pretty much the whole World apart from us parents here that have kids in public school. We’re still counting down the days. If you hear a collective cheer around 9am on Wednesday it’s all the parents as they drop their kids off finally. I’ve talked long and hard about the summer school holidays being far too long and you’ll be hard pushed to find a Spanish or English parent that doesn’t disagree. I think the schooling here is great and both our boys go to Spanish schools but 3 months off in the summer is too long.

My two have kept themselves busy by starting boxing this summer. Not that we want them to fight, as they do enough of that with each other, but it’s great for fitness and discipline. In fact they’ve both carried on despite returning to football training.

We were in Montuiri again last Monday for a friendly match with my eldest Jake. They turned out in a kit that was white shorts, white socks and a camouflaged shirt. It sounds awful but to be honest it looked great.

He will appear alongside ex-footballer Darren Bent, top florist Elizabeth McKenna and Line of Duty’s Maya Sondhi. Contestants answer questions on a specialist subject, followed by a general knowledge round.

I just happen to be going to the airport on Sunday to pick him up as he’s appearing at Gringos on Monday night. You may recall him coming earlier in the year and he had such a good night he’s coming back. He’s great fun and we’re looking forward to seeing him again.

Gringos has been a huge success this season and if you don’t know, this is bingo but not as you know it! It is the ultimate night out for adults of all ages. Expect chaos, raves, dance-offs, funny prizes and big prizes!

Don’t confuse this as the traditional style of bingo – think nightclub and party atmosphere with music to suit all – from nostalgic tunes, old school anthems and present day bangers! There’s adult humour from the host and crazy characters to keep the audience entertained all night long. So what is all the fuss about? The normal rules of bingo still apply, with some great prizes and then some bizarre prizes…but in between each game you’ll be up dancing as confetti fills the room. Even if you don’t win, you’ll get your fair share of laughs and a crazy party night at that.

Call 971 130411 to get your tickets and don’t forget we’re celebrating Christmas Gringos on October 5th and Halloween Gringos on October 31st.

The return of World Gravy Wrestling Championships a couple of weeks ago saw intrepid wrestlers don their finest fancy dress and go head to head in two-minute bouts in a giant pool filled with more than 1,000 litres of sticky, salty gravy.

The ever-popular event, which began in 2007, is hosted by the Rose n’ Bowl in Stacktseads, Rossendale and this year attracted more than 1,500 spectators.

Over the years it has raised more than £30,000 for East Lancashire Hospice and charities of the competitors’ choice.

Those seeking gravy-soaked glory are awarded points on a number of factors, including who has the best moves, the best costumes, and who gets the biggest laugh out of the crowd. The winner of the men’s competition was returning champion Joel Hicks, while Skye Penty claimed the 2019 crown for the women.

Not sure I would have had the Sunday roast that weekend!

The 34th annual World Bog Snorkelling Championships, an event that Lonely Planet described as one of the top 50 “must do” things from around the world was held on Sunday 25th August 2019 in Llanwrtyd Wells. Over 160 participants from Australia, Belgium, Denmark, Eire, Italy, the Netherlands, South Africa, Sweden and USA

The current World Champion and World Record holder Neil Rutter, who achieved a time of 1 minute 18.82 seconds in the 2018 championships breaking the previous World Record of 1 minute 22.56 seconds set in 2014 by Kirsty Johnson from Lightwater in Surrey, mounted a successful defence of his title but failed to break his own record with a time of 1 minute 21.78 seconds. The Ladies Champion was Betsy Creak(not made up) with a time of 1 minute 42.22 seconds and the Overseas Champion was Ian Maclachlan from South Africa with a time of 1 minute 38.75 seconds.

The rules are;

You get one of two bogs assigned at registration, this is not negotiable.

You must snorkel 2 lengths of the bog (110 meters in total) and touch the turn post above the water level.

You are only allowed to swim soggy paddle with arms, no breast stroke or front crawl. You must swim with your face in the water but can look occasionally to adjust direction.

You may use fins but no mono-fins.

You can’t use webbed gloves or full face snorkel masks.

Don’t be slower than 2 minutes for the first length of the bog. Otherwise you cannot continue the second length. Let me know if you fancy it next year.

Dad Taxi earning my money this weekend with a trip to Campanet and another one to Palma for the boys friendly games. No game for Real Mallorca as it’s International weekend but Atlético Baleares play away on Sunday.

Enjoy your weekend!

Richie presents the Radio One Mallorca Breakfast show Monday to Friday07.30-11.00am on 93.8fm in Mallorca and 102fm in Calvià, online at www.radioonemallorca.comon mobile through their free App for IPhone & Android, The Tunein Radio App, iTunes, the Spanish TDT TV service and all smart speakers. . If you can’t hear him on the radio then you’ll find him working at Pirates Adventure the islands number one night out and every now and again he may make an understudy appearance!

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You can tell the kids are due back in school next week as the price of return flights are ridiculous. I know one family who were quoted 500€ each for a one way to London and as there’s 3 of them they decided to look elsewhere. They’re now flying into Scotland as the kids there have already gone back and then getting a train back down. It’s a little inconvenient of course but as the price overall is a third of the direct flight they’ve booked it.

We’re still counting down the days for our kids to go back to school, 12 more sleeps for most I think.

It’s been a busy week at our shows Pirates, Reloaded and Gringos and lots of celebrities have paid us a visit this week. Molly Mae from Love Island was in to the adult show fresh from signing a £500,000 brand ambassador deal with PrettyLittleThing. The comedian John Bishop came to see the Adventure show with his Sister. The Award-winning comedian has confirmed details of a run of work in progress shows. The gigs will see the comic road test new material as he puts the finishing touches to his upcoming eighth stand up show.

We had dinner this week with old friends Sally Lindsay and Steve White. Sally of course from Coronation Street, Open All Hours and Mount Pleasant fame. She has lots of new things coming up including a series which she has written herself. Her hubby Steve is recognised as one of the Worlds best drummers, he’s drummed for The Style Council, Paul Weller, The Who and Oasis and now runs drumming tutorials. He also presented this year “The Art of Drumming” on Sky Arts which won a Royal Television Society Award. In at the same show also was actor Chris Bisson who worked with Sally on Corrie, he is currently in Emmerdale where he plays Jai Sharna. They both hadn’t really seen each other since their days on the cobbles.

Topping it off was former footballer turned pundit Steve McManaman whose has a property on the island. The former Liverpool, Real Madrid, Manchester City and England player now works for BT on their football coverage.

It’s good to see so many of them loving and supporting our island.

Chuckle-Vision has been named the greatest CBBC series voted for by the readers of the Radio Times.

For more than two decades, 21 series and 294 episodes until 2009 Barry and Paul Elliott played the slapstick Paul and Barry Chuckle. Barry sadly died aged 73 in August last year.

1. ChuckleVision

2. The Story Of Tracy Beaker

3. Dick And Dom in da Bungalow

4. Horrible Histories

5. The Sarah Jane Adventures

6. Blue Peter

7. Byker Grove

8. Grange Hill

9. Maid Marian And Her Merry Men

10. The Demon Headmaster

Spotify have revealed the most streamed songs of the summer on the streaming platform. The data was calculated from songs streamed on Spotify between June 1 and August 20 2019 and reveals the most listened to songs both globally and in the UK.

Real Mallorca have their first away game this Sunday in Valencia. They learnt the hard way last weekend that despite dominating their game against Real Sociedad for long periods they mustn’t switch off. If it’s likely that you’re not going to win a game it’s important that you don’t lose it. In the 83rd minute Straight from a Mallorca corner Sociedad ran up the other end to score. You can’t relax in this league and Mallorca were punished so hopefully a lesson learned. A great crowd of just over 18,000 and 3 points from 2 games though is still a reasonable start.

Atlético Baleares play their first home game on Sunday at their refurbished Estadi Balear. After a good away win last week 3 more points could see them top their league at the end of the weekend.

My youngest Jude has started training this week and has a friendly this Saturday. My eldest Jake got gubbed 6-0 by a very good Manacor team and 3-1 in Montuiri on Tuesday night. In Montuiri we tasted Pa Amb Oli with Calamar which all the Dads said I had to try and it was lovely. They have friendlies on Sunday and Monday this week, so Dad Taxi is pretty much back to working full time.

Enjoy your weekend!

Richie presents the Radio One Mallorca Breakfast show Monday to Friday07.30-11.00am on 93.8fm in Mallorca and 102fm in Calvià, online at www.radioonemallorca.com on mobile through their free App for IPhone & Android, The Tunein Radio App, iTunes, the Spanish TDT TV service and all smart speakers. . If you can’t hear him on the radio then you’ll find him working at Pirates Adventure the islands number one night out and every now and again he may make an understudy appearance!

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It certainly was a Super Saturday last week. My sons team won 4-0, Arsenal won 2-1 to go top of the League, albeit for a couple of hours and it couldn’t have gone any better for Real Mallorca on their return to La Liga winning 2-1.

I said last week that the squad although lacking in experience had a togetherness built up through the campaign last season and that definitely showed last weekend. Even the 2 players that came in, in the summer Agbenyenu and Febas didn’t look out of place. Outstanding contributions for me from Dani Rodriguez, who scored within 4 minutes and Baba who continued his play-off form from last season. They showed that they can mix it in the bigger league. They’ll be tougher tests to come I’m sure but it was a result to be celebrated amongst the 15,127 who were very happy at the end. Another home game this weekend against Real Sociedad who had a good draw away in Valencia last week. A win would be great but a draw and 4 points from 2 games would still be a great start. Added to the squad this week are on paper and what I’ve seen online two very exciting signings. Firstly Takefusa Kubo signed on a season long loan from Real Madrid. An exciting young talent nicknamed “the Japanese Messi” whose impressed in pre-season and whilst training with the Real Madrid first team. Also French midfield player Yannis Salibur signed a three year deal from French Club En Avant de Guingamp. He nearly signed for Hull in 2017 and spent last season on loan at St Etienne.

This weekend sees the start of a new season for our other professional football club on the island, Atletico Baleares. After the huge disappointment of missing out on the play-offs not once but twice last year, its a year of rebuilding both on and off the pitch. Probably most importantly like Mallorca they kept their Manager Manix Mandiola, since taking over in February 2018 they’ve only lost 10 of his 58 games in charge. The squad has been overhauled and it’s a shame that the player I interviewed earlier in the year Sam Shashoua went back to Tottenham. I learned yesterday that he has now left Spurs and signed for Tenerife who play in La Liga 123. Back to Baleares and this week they’ve brought in a Scottish U21 International called Jordan Holsgrove from Reading for a weeks training with a view to a move. The other big change is their move from Son Malferit back to their old ground the Estadi Balear. They’ve invested heavily in the pitch and the main stand and it’s already paying off as like Mallorca they’ve sold out their quota of season tickets, 2,300. They have seats for 2,751 at the end of the first phase of their reform, the difference they will sell to away fans and home fans on the day. Their final objective is to reach 6,500. They begin their campaign away against UP Langreo in Asturias who finished 9th in their Segunda B group last season. Although I’m a Real Mallorca fan I understand how important it is to have both our island sides doing well. For the local economy on the one hand and as I have 2 sons who play football the opportunities to play at a higher level are improved too. I will definitely take in a couple of games with the boys when I can.

My Son Jakes team continued their unbeaten start in pre-season with a 4-0 win last weekend. He scored the first with his right foot which is a rarity, even the coach couldn’t believe it. Bit of an early start for Dad Taxi this Sunday a 09.30 kick-off means we need to be in Palma by 08.30. My youngest Jude starts his pre-season next week at the same club as Jake, San Francisco. I want to say a big thank you to all the gang at the Shambhala Gym in Santa Ponsa. As you know I’ve been training there but the boys have been boxing training there too in readiness for the football season and with their help the boys fitness has greatly improved.

The official title for Bond 25 has been revealed, the upcoming movie, which will be Daniel Craig’s last outing as the iconic British spy, will be called No Time To Die. A tweet shared on the official 007 Twitter account confirmed both the new title and release date. The film will arrive in cinemas on April 3rd 2020 in the UK and April 8th in the US.

Dua Lipa, the chart-topping musician responsible for hits like New Rules and IDGAF, is currently the favourite with bookmakers to sing the theme tune.

A source said: “Dua Lipa is one of the hottest stars at the moment and we think she would be nigh on perfect for the role of performing the theme for Bond 25.”

George Ezra and Callum Scott have odds of 2/1 and 3/1 respectively, with Beyonce at 6/1. The Rag ‘N’ Bone Man is 10/1 and Ed Sheeran 12/1.

The best joke at the Edinburgh Fringe has been named as a vegetable pun which beat the comic competition. This festival dates back to 1947, it’s always in the month of August and it finishes this bank holiday weekend.

Festival veteran Olaf Falafel from Sweden claimed the coveted honour of the Funniest Joke At The Fringe.

It was deemed the best gag by 2000 voting members of the public, after being shortlisted by an expert panel.

1 Olaf Falafel

“I keep randomly shouting out ‘Broccoli’ and ‘Cauliflower’ – I think I might have Florets.”

“What’s driving Brexit? From here it looks like it’s probably the Duke of Edinburgh.”

4 Jake Lambert

“A cowboy asked me if I could help him round up 18 cows. I said, ‘Yes, of course. That’s 20 cows’.”

5 Ross Smith

“A thesaurus is great. There’s no other word for it.”

6 Ross Smith

“Sleep is my favourite thing in the world. It’s the reason I get up in the morning.”

7 Adele Cliff

“I accidentally booked myself onto an escapology course; I’m really struggling to get out of it.”

8 Richard Pulsford

“After learning six hours of basic semaphore, I was flagging.”

9 Mark Simmons

“To be or not to be a horse rider, that is equestrian.”

10 Ivo Graham

“I’ve got an Eton-themed Advent calendar, where all the doors are opened for me by my dad’s contacts.”

Despite finishing a few weeks ago Love Island and its contestants are still in the news. We’ve had a few of them return to the island this season at Pirates and Gringos and it’s no surprise that the shows have been sellouts. Last week we had Curtis in at Gringos and he was great fun even showing off his ballroom dance skills. Next Wednesday in Reloaded, Molly Mae will be joining us. She finished second in the series so it’s sure to be a busy night. You can meet her and enjoy an amazing show by booking online at http://www.piratesreloaded.com or calling (0034) 971 130411

Enjoy your weekend!

Richie presents the Radio One Mallorca Breakfast show Monday to Friday07.30-11.00am on 93.8fm in Mallorca and 102fm in Calvià, online at www.radioonemallorca.comon mobile through their free App for IPhone & Android, The Tunein Radio App, iTunes, the Spanish TDT TV service and all smart speakers. . If you can’t hear him on the radio then you’ll find him working at Pirates Adventure the islands number one night out and every now and again he may make an understudy appearance!

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This weekend Real Mallorca start their La Liga campaign. To think that only 2 years ago they were kicking off in Segunda B against CF Peralada with barely 1,000 people watching and now they are back in the big time. Four players who started that day should be in the starting line up against Eibar this Saturday. Reina, Raillo, Sastre and Lago Junior are the only surviving members from that first game which Mallorca won 1-0. It’s been a fairytale couple of years with back to back promotions and now the serious business starts. What can we expect to happen? The first year has to be about survival. I’d be happy with 17th but I’m sure the aim is to finish higher. Winning your homes games is vitally important as Mallorca showed last season. They won 15 of their 21 games at home only losing 2 and that was their springboard to the play-offs. In contrast they were awful away, winning just 4 games. The jury is also out on the squad who don’t have much La Liga experience but will be living off the spirit and camaraderie built up through last season. They can thank the Manager Vincente Moreno for that, he and his team have done an amazing job and together they delivered his ambition to manage in the big league. To be honest they have a chance to get off to a decent start with back to back home games. This Saturday against Eibar and next Sunday against Real Sociedad. Both had decent seasons last year finishing 9th and 12th respectively. However Eibar only won away twice last season and Sociedad six times so six or even 4 points from those two games would give the club a huge lift.

Kick-off is 8pm at the Son Moix and me and the boys are really looking forward to it. If you’re not able to get to the games there’s good news. ITV have announced they will broadcast three La Liga matches live on ITV4 at the start of the new season. The broadcaster showed live top-flight Spanish matches at the end of last season after previous rights holders Eleven Sports cut short their agreement. They will also show weekly La Liga highlights throughout the season on both ITV and ITV4.

Live coverage began with Barcelona’s trip to Athletic Bilbao last night. A spectacular goal in the last couple of minutes from former Mallorca player Aduriz gave Bilbao a 1-0 victory. Barcelona are very ordinary without Messi and also lost Suarez through injury so not a great start for last year’s Champions.

Barcelona’s first home game against Real Betis on the 25th August will also be shown live, before Real Madrid’s trip to Villarreal is aired on the following weekend. Apparently there are negotiations ongoing between La Liga and ITV for the broadcast of live matches throughout the rest of the season.

My eldest Jake started his pre-season last weekend so Dad Taxi made a return with an early start to be in Binnisalem by 08.30. Its good to get back on the road and watching football again. I love travelling around the island and going to different places, it makes you appreciate what a beautiful island we live on.

I think it’s great to get your kids doing things, not quite sure about this one though? Daniel Rose-Levine, 16, holds the Guinness World Record for solving a Rubik’s cube with, wait for it, his feet! The American teen can do it in 16.9 seconds, or as long as it takes some people to put on shoes and lace them up.

He’d mastered the cube with his hands aged just 11 by studying endless You Tube videos. His best time is just 5.3 seconds, with the current World Record at 3.47 seconds held by Yusheng Du from China.

We’re getting used to hearing stories about younger people growing up and doing things different to how we did. But this one took me by surprise this week.

A Scottish university announced it is shutting its union bar.

Dundee-based Abertay University says student tastes are moving away from drinking and there is no longer enough demand for alcohol.

Income at the bar is said to have ‘dropped drastically’ in recent years as many students now prefer afternoon lunch and coffees to cut-price pints and shots.

It comes as a recent survey by the National Union of Students revealed one in five UK students are teetotal while demand for alcohol-free university events is rising. Times are changing.

This Saturday really is a Super Saturday. My Son plays a friendly Saturday morning, Arsenal play Burnley Saturday lunchtime and Real Mallorca play Saturday evening. The Wife is over the moon as you can imagine, well over the moon that she’s getting rid of us for most of the day.

Enjoy your weekend!

Richie presents the Radio One Mallorca Breakfast show Monday to Friday07.30-11.00am on 93.8fm in Mallorca and 102fm in Calvià, online at www.radioonemallorca.comon mobile through their free App for IPhone & Android, The Tunein Radio App, iTunes, the Spanish TDT TV service and all smart speakers. . If you can’t hear him on the radio then you’ll find him working at Pirates Adventure the islands number one night out and every now and again he may make an understudy appearance!

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August is upon us, the month where the roads are jam packed, you can’t park anywhere and trying to get a restaurant reservation is nigh on impossible. For those of us who work in the tourist industry it’s heads down and look forward to September.

We took the opportunity last weekend to leave the island and take a trip to Barcelona. We love the city but when we found out Arsenal were playing there in a pre-season game we had to go. Well my Wife had to be persuaded with a promised tapas bar visit and that we would stay in a hotel and not on the airport floor like last time when we saw Queen live with Adam Lambert!

Ryanair played their old chestnut game, by not buying a seat they tell you “there’s a chance you won’t be sat together” change that to “there’s absolutely no chance you’ll be sat together and we’ll put you in the worst middle seats”. Sure enough we ended up going with 4E, 5B, 5E and 31B and coming back with 3B, 5B, 30B and 31B! You couldn’t make it up. Anyway it’s only half an hour so no worries.

The tapas restaurant didn’t disappoint as always, it’s called Cervecería Catalana by the way in Calle Mallorca, so easy to remember. We made our way to the stadium by Metro which we’d never done before. We bought a ticket that covered 10 journeys which covered going for all of us and going back and was just 10.65€. Fairly easy to understand too once you get your bearings. The game was for the Juan Camper trophy a traditional beginning of season game they play every year. The whole of the Barcelona team was introduced to their fans and no surprise who got the biggest cheer. Messi is God in these parts and unfortunately(or fortunately) for us he didn’t get on. Rest after the Copa America was the official line, although he’d been out partying in Ibiza last week.

It was totally full with 98,000 fans and the game was going well at 1-0 to the Arsenal until we decided to score an own goal with 20 minutes to go and the man that we once bid £40 million plus a penny for, Luis Suarez scored in the final minute. Still a great day out and the boys loved it.

Real Mallorca play their final warm up game this weekend when they play in the Trofeo Cuitat de Palma against La Liga side Levante. It’s their traditional beginning of season game where they like Barcelona did present their team to the fans. The club have sold their full quota of season tickets, 16,125, they needto keep 20% of seats back for visiting fans.

Whilst I have sympathy with people especially friends who couldn’t get season tickets for Real Mallorca. Where were you 2 years ago when we were in 2B? You might want to watch Barcelona but you chose not watch us on a cold January day against Atletico Saguntino!

This is the time of year that Fantasy Football leagues are popular, we have a similar thing on the radio where we predict the Premier League scores. Some of the names people come up with are great.

Lallanas in Pyjamas

Lads on Toure

We’re Going Toulouse

Pjanic at the Disco

Moyes N The Hood

Chamakh My Pitch Up

Deeney in a Bottle

You Kante Be Serious?

Woo Woo That’s The Sound of Nampalys

Neville Wears Prada

Absolutely Fabregas

Pathetico Madrid

Klopps and Robbers

Le Saux Solid Crew

Knowing me, knowing you…Zaha

And my favourite in our league There’s only 1 F in Fulham.

To join us in our Radio One Mallorca mini-league, follow these 3 easy steps:

3. Click on Mini-Leagues in the menu and enter the following code: k533d

My favourite football story of the week was the match between Tiptree Engaine FC and Stanway Rovers Reserves. The referee failed to show up so a replacement was found from the gathered supporters. He was a qualified referee but the only problem was he had no whistle. The only thing they could find was a toddlers harmonica! I’ve seen the footage online and it’s hilarious when he blows as every time it’s a different note. Would love to see that in the Premier League this weekend.

On my radio show every day I do a fascinating fact and this was a good one this week. Bohemian Rhapsody’ by Queen contains the famous “mamma mia, mamma mia, mamma mia let me go” line. In January 1976, it was knocked off the No.1 position on the UK chart by Abba’s ‘Mamma Mia’.

Dad Taxi returns this weekend with an early morning trip to Binnisalem as my eldest starts his pre-season games.

Enjoy your weekend!

Richie presents the Radio One Mallorca Breakfast show Monday to Friday07.30-11.00am on 93.8fm in Mallorca and 102fm in Calvià, online at www.radioonemallorca.comon mobile through their free App for IPhone & Android, The Tunein Radio App, iTunes, the Spanish TDT TV service and all smart speakers. . If you can’t hear him on the radio then you’ll find him working at Pirates Adventure the islands number one night out and every now and again he may make an understudy appearance!

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For the past eight weeks ITV2 has basically been running a free advert for ourisland which came to a climax last weekend when more than 3.8m people tuned in to watch Love Island’s Amber Gill and Greg O’Shea be named the surprise winners of the Dating show. A further 400,000 fans streamed the episode on non-TV devices such as phones and tablets.

This was up from the 3.56 million who tuned in to watch Dani Dyer and Jack Fincham win last year. This year’s audience made it the most watched Love Island final ever and the most watched episode of the series, which has been a ratings triumph for the channel. Two series are planned for next year with South Africa added in January to deter those post Christmas blues and Mallorca again in June.

For those of you who’d like to meet a few of your favourites then some of them are making appearances at Pirates & Gringos in the Pirates theatre this month.

This weekend football finally returns with the Championship, League 1 and 2 and the Scottish leagues too. The Premier League starts next week and the Spanish La Liga the week after. It’s been a long summer break with no World Cup or Euros to enjoy. So I’ve had to look for other sporting fixes instead. I’ve enjoyed Wimbledon, The Open Golf, the Cricket World Cup and the F1 but I also found a few slightly more eccentric events too.

Two members of the same family have taken home championship titles in an annual thumb wrestling event.

The men’s title was pinned down for the fourth year by Paul Browse, while his mother-in-law Janet Coleman won the women’s competition.

She took the title from her daughter, Mr Browse’s wife, Becky, who could not attend.

The thumb-to-thumb combat at The Locks Inn, Geldeston, Norfolk, is played in rounds on a wooden board resembling a wrestling ring.

The winners each won £350 and were presented with trophies.

A new world stinging nettle champion has been declared after one hungry participant ate 58ft of the painful plant.

Tony Jeyes devoured 29 2ft-long stems to take the title and was one of dozens of competitors to take part in the annual event, held at the Bottle Inn pub in the village of Marshwood, Dorset.

Mr Jeyes was joined in the winner category by Lindy Rogers, 68, who took the women’s title after eating 46ft of nettles.

Ms Rogers, 67, had only entered the eccentric contest at the last minute but her method of dipping nettles into cider before eating them proved a winner.

She said “I had a nice glass of pear and apple cider which I dunked the rolled up leaves into to make them more moist and easier to go down.

‘I am thrilled to have won. My tongue is black today but I feel fine.’

The nettle-eating record stands at a phenomenal 104ft and is held by three-time winner Phil Throme, who did not take part this year. The trophies were presented by John Nettles and Sting and next year apparently you can watch it on Nettlefix. Sorry I made that last bit up but the rest was true I promise.

It was once again a pair of familiar faces who won the 2019 Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest. Joey “Jaws” Chestnut claimed a victory for the men’s title, chowing down 71 hot dogs in 10 minutes. This is his 12th year winning the eating contest.

In the women’s division, Miki Sudo, also the defending champion, clenched the Mustard Belt again with her sixth consecutive first-place finish. She ate 31 hot dogs.

Chestnut’s 71 hot dogs comes close to the record he set in 2018 of 74 hot dogs, but the pro eater couldn’t beat his previous feat.

Chestnut’s dog count has risen gradually over the course of his career, probably along with his waistline, starting with 66 in 2007. He downed 70 hotdogs in 2016 and hasn’t hasn’t looked back.

Chestnut, a former construction manager from San Jose, CA, holds 40 titles in Major League Eating competitions around the U.S, which includes the record for most gyozas eaten in 10 minutes (381), the most hard boiled eggs eaten in 10 minutes (151), and the most pizzas eaten in 10 minutes (7.5). Nathan’s website calls him “an American Hero and a national treasure.” Apparently he’s sponsored by Rennie.

I was talking last week about the money that footballers earn. I learnt this fact this week which probably shows you where we are right now.

Novak Djokovic took home £2.35 million for winning Wimbledon.

Tiger Woods took home $2 million for winning The Masters.

16-year-old Kyle Giersdorf took home $3 million for Winning The Fortnite World Championships. If you’ve never heard of Fortnite, ask your kids or grand kids!

It’s been a busy week meeting and greeting celebrities. On Sunday in Pirates we welcomed the reality star Dan Osbourne and his Eastenders actress Wife Jacqueline Jossa with their children. Also in the Show was socialite Tamara Ecclestone Rutland, her husband Jay and all their family. They are regular visitors to the show and said they will be back again next year. I was contacted by Radio 1 this week and asked to do an interview with Scott Mills and Chris Stark for their afternoon show. They were promoting a feature on their show called Holiday T-Shirt Day, encouraging people to wear their old holiday T-Shirts to work. We had a great laugh and they used it as part of their podcast that day which you can listen to online or on the radio Facebook page.

Enjoy your weekend!

Richie presents the Radio One Mallorca Breakfast show Monday to Friday07.30-11.00am on 93.8fm in Mallorca and 102fm in Calvià, online at www.radioonemallorca.comon mobile through their free App for IPhone & Android, The Tunein Radio App, iTunes, the Spanish TDT TV service and all smart speakers. . If you can’t hear him on the radio then you’ll find him working at Pirates Adventure the islands number one night out and every now and again he may make an understudy appearance!